Monday, 21 March 2011

Libya: The Russian-German(-Chinese) anti-coalition alliance is well and alive

Russia´s de facto dictator Putin´s reacton to the UN sanctioned coalition´s operations in Libya should not come as a surprise to anybody:

Russia's prime minister is strongly criticizing the U.N. resolution allowing international use of force in Libya, saying it reminds him of the Crusades.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also says the military actions against Libya prove that Russia is correct in its drive to strengthen its own defenses.Putin's remarks on Monday, reported by Russian news agencies, came as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates began a visit to Russia aimed at easing Moscow's worries over a proposed NATO missile defense shield in Europe.Putin's statements indicated that Russian suspicion of the West and the United States in particular remains strong. Russia abstained in the U.N. Security Council vote on the resolution authorizing force in Libya.

Neither should Putin´s de facto ally´s - Germany´s - reaction come as a surprise. Herr Westerwelle was not as blunt is Putin, but basically he seems to share Putin´s view about the coalition operations:

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, however, offered Moussa's comments as evidence that Germany's decision not to participate in the operation had been justified."This does not mean that we are neutral," Westerwelle said on his way into the same meeting. "This does not mean that we have any sympathy with the dictator Gadhafi. It means that we see the risks, and when we listen closely to what the Arab League yesterday said, unfortunately we see that we had reasons for our concerns."